This Valentine's Day, a dozen red roses may be out of the question, but a dozen dead schoolgirls is totally doable courtesy of The Red Riding Trilogy, unspooling in various installments at an exclusive Nuart engagement... more ›

Chef Sumant Pardal only first heard of the Twittering designer food truck craze this summer. But when he heard the concept, it sparked an idea and in ten days, his India Jones Chow Truck was on the road. more ›

Local foodie Aarti Paarti's latest webisode tempts us to make Indian lassi's with a twist this weekend. How can you go wrong with mango, chile, lime and cayenne? Or rosewater, pistachios and cardamon? But first, we're off to the farmer's market this weekend to accomplish the strawberry, basil and black pepper lassi. Aarti's videos are accompanied by the recipes written down on her blog. more ›

It's a very festive time right now. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and there's a lot of copying & pasting in Film Digest land. The Indian Film Festival continues its run at the Arclight, as well as its mixed masala line-up. Joining it are the 10th Annual Polish Film Festival, the 4th Annual Jewish Film Festival & a virtual continuation of last week's Japanese Film Festival at the Egyptian with a series dedicated to controversial auteur Nagisa Oshima. If those aren't exotic enough, you can always make the journey to San Pedro for the L.A. Harbor Film Festival, or trek all the way to Orange County for the Newport Beach Film Festival. Even the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is getting in on the act, with panels dedicated to Hollywood biographers & the adaptation of The Soloist.
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Photo courtesy of Kunal Sen Animation more ›

For those of you that like curry based Indian food, whether you're eating out, getting takeaway or in for delivery, Curry Land near the NoHo Arts District is pretty amazing. From the samosas to the malai kofta (basically vegetarian meatballs), the curry adaptations of these recipes are a of lot "yum, yum, yum" and leaves little left on the plate. (Curry Land, which used to be called Curry House, is located on Lankershim Blvd. between Moorpark and Cahuenga) more ›

If you were a kid growing up in Southern California, learning about the Chumash Indians was no doubt a part of your third-grade curriculum (probably right around the same time you were building a mission out of sugar cubes). The Chumash were the original inhabitants of much of SoCal's coastal areas, and did cool stuff like leech the acid out of acorns so they could make food out of it without being poisoned. Of course, it wasn't until high school that we learned about things like imperialism and colonialism, and how the Europeans did crazy stuff like pass out syphilis blankets. (Many of you might also know of the Chumash tribe from the "Pangs" episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" where Xander got infected with all sorts of spirit-Indian diseases; it was also a really sad episode where Angel comes back to visit and Buffy doesn't know it, but anyway, that's neither here nor there.) more ›

Late this morning, a fire struck the delicious and affordable Taste of India restaurant in Sherman Oaks, a few blocks West of Woodman on Ventura Blvd. It took 40 firefighters 31 minutes to contain the fire in ventilation duct work. There were no injuries. Traffic on Ventura Blvd. was shut down in both directions for two blocks forcing motorists to clog the allies north and south of Ventura Blvd. It is unknown at this... more ›

If these warm, muggy days and nights have inspired in you a craving for the spicy culinary catharsis that only a tandoori oven can provide, Salomi in North Hollywood might just be your cup of chai. Tucked away on the corner of Magnolia and Lankershim, it's an above-average takeout joint masquerading as a fine-dining experience: red velvet curtains line the walls, and sparkly chandeliers tinkle above your head as you take a deep swallow... more ›

One of our deep-pocketed lawyer friends was in town this week, visiting from New York, where he actually manages to make payments on an apartment in the East Village - people are capable of that? How is that possible? Well, apparently it takes advanced degrees in mathematics and law, as well as a sixty-hour work week. We'll take our humble (but spacious!) apartment in North Hollywood anyday, thank you very much. Anyway, that was... more ›

Every Friday, LAist is taking you on a trip down to Orange County to uncover the unique dining experiences that await adventurous eaters willing to explore beyond the county line. As much as I love fine dining, there’s a certain satisfaction that comes with the comfort foods that I find at local hideaways that five-star restaurants can’t provide. While these local eateries will never make a Michelin guide, they possess a reliable meal, a... more ›

Let’s be real. Finding good Indian food in LA is kind of like finding good Mexican food north of LA. You all have that friend from some Midwest town, who swears that King Taco has nothing on the burritos he knows back home, where the closest he’s had to a Mexican experience is watching Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy. No matter what ethnic fare strikes your own palette, you’ll inevitably suffer through at least... more ›